Italian fashion concern as PM resignation puts right-wing alliance ahead in polls

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The Italian fashion and luxury industry expressed disappointment as Mario Draghi resigned as prime minister today. The conservative and far-right alliance now lead opinion polls to replace him in an election timed to fall at the tail-end of Milan Fashion Week in September.

Draghi, who has held the position for 18 months, was a popular prime minister for the Italian fashion community, seen as an assured politician, who guided Italy through difficulties of Covid-19; negotiated a €191.5 billion pandemic recovery fund from the EU (though still to be implemented); joined wider EU sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine; and helped the economy return to growth. Italian bonds and stocks have suffered due to concerns about the political fallout.

The €90 billion Italian fashion industry is one of the country’s biggest manufacturers, supplying global brands with its clothing and leather goods as well as employing almost 600,000 people across 60,000 firms according to the Italian chamber of fashion, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana. Italy boasts major global players like Prada, Gucci, Moncler, OTB Group, Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna and Ferragamo to the small and medium-sized entrepreneurs and craftspeople. However, the rise in raw material costs and energy, Covid-induced supply chain delays, the loss of high-spending Russian clientele due to EU sanctions, and the decline in Chinese tourism and broader slowdown in China has hit the industry. Earlier this week, Armani Group said it returned to profitability last year, but chairman and CEO Giorgio Armani warned of recessionary risks on the horizon.

The Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana and Altagamma said in a statement that this is a “crucial moment not just for our country — also due to the protracted Russian-Ukrainian conflict and the resurgence of the pandemic — it is crucial to guarantee the stability of the government,” according to Carlo Capasa, president of the chamber of fashion in the statement. 

“Prime Minister Mario Draghi has been fundamental in these complex months, enhancing and offering [stable] authority to our country and representing its interests through concrete actions, in Europe and the [rest of] the world. For this reason, an irreversible government crisis must be avoided; it is necessary in this moment, the utmost responsibility on the part of all political forces for the work of the Draghi government [to] continue.”

Last week Draghi offered his resignation to Italy’s president, Sergio Mattarella, after three parties in his government boycotted a confidence vote, triggering the collapse of his national unity government. The resignation was rejected initially and Draghi agreed to hold off for a few days but he made it clear that he did not plan to stay if he did not have the support of his partners. Elections will take place on 25 September, toward the end of Milan Fashion Week, which runs 21-27 September.

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